一身
yī shēn · HSK 5
from head to toe
👤 一 (one) + 身 (body) = one body, i.e. whole body / single person
一 means 'one' and 身 means 'body/self'. Together they literally read 'one body' — extended to cover the whole body head-to-toe, a single person, or one full set of clothes worn on that body.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
身 — pictograph of a pregnant body
身 is a pictograph originally depicting a person with a swollen belly, representing a pregnant woman in profile. Over time the meaning broadened from 'pregnancy' or 'torso' to refer to the body in general, and by extension oneself or one's person.